To give up my HA house and move into private rental?

[Littlefluffyclouds81]

I don't know what to do. I was lucky enough to get a HA house in a lovely little town with great schools 1.5 years ago. I only managed to get it because I was escaping DV. I was really chuffed, especially as renting privately before I had had to move 10 times in 10 years, which was horrible for the dc.

However, I hate it here. The NDNs on one side own their house and they are a nightmare. They are both alcoholics, and the woman is really abusive and I've had run ins with her. Their house and garden is a right shit pit, and they have 3 large savage looking dogs who are left alone in the house a lot and bark constantly, it drives me nuts. I don't think reporting them would be a good idea as the woman is a nutter who has been banned from all the pubs locally for decking people.

The neighbours on the other side are ok but they have started a new thing of yelling at each other for hours every night which is not nice to live next door to with thin walls

I have looked into exchanging but I would need to stay very close because of the kids being settled in school, so there are not many people who would want to swap. Also, with the state of the house next door I think anyone would be put off swapping.

If I went back on the list I would only be entitled to get a 2 bed as the rules have changed since I moved here. My eldest had a bladder problem and regularly wets the bed so it would be really disruptive for my other dd to share. Also there is a big age gap between them and my eldest would be entitled to her own room in a couple of years.

I really don't want to give up the security I have and can't really afford to rent privately (I'm a student) but I am suffering badly with depression and living here isn't helping. Has anyone got any bright ideas of ways to get out of this situation?

Does you dd get dla medium
Or high care? If so she would be entitled to her own room ( also if relevant no bedroom tax).
You would need to take medical info confirming dd needs her own room due to being on asd pathway plus proof of dla.

There are sofabeds that are genuinely comfortable and are designed to be appropriate to sleep on every night. Obviously they are a lot more expensive than normal sofa beds. Swapping down to a 2bed with reasonably equal-sized rooms should be possible surely - there are huge numbers of families who are overcrowded. Don't give up the security of HA!

I just don't understand any of this.

What don't you understand ?

If your dd is autistic then the insecurity of private rent won't be good for her.

Try to get an exchange.

Contact cab about the neighbours. Keep a diary of the noise. Keep the ha informed.

You can complain the the council environmental department about the neighbours, just because they own their home it doesn't mean they can get away with being anti-social twats. obviously it's not possible to just evict them, but they can be warned about their behaviour and prosecuted, and steps can be taken to remove the dogs if necessary.

Also if your DD is autistic (or even if she isn't) it's not a good idea for her to be going to live with a man who has perpetrated DV.Even if he doesn't lay a finger on her she might witness violence towards his new partner/s.

Could you quietly report the dog neighbours to the council/RSPCA? If the dogs are left alone for long periods then there could be a negligence issue that might warrant some intervention........just a thought. Try not to give up your HA home if you possibly can, look into other avenues first.

Try going on home swapper to find a priority to swap with. Don't give up your secure HA tenancy, they are gold dust.

Priority = property

There's no guarantee you won't have nightmare neighbors if you privately rent.
Plus you'll have the annual worry about whether you have to move or not. I hate that. Every year we have to worry about whether the landlady will want to sell up and move us on. That would mean we'd have to borrow money for a new deposit, plus the extortionate estate agent fees, and probably move our son's school.

There is no guarantee of nice neighbours wherever you go. We owned our own home in an area considered to be an affluent, 'leafy suburb' type of place. We still ended up next to car and drug dealers.

I'm a landlady ( by default) and try to be fair and kind to my tenants as they are the ones looking after the houses. However I am aware that at some point the houses will be sold and it will break my heart to do that to them. One of them keeps doing improvements and I keep saying that I wish she didn't . She put down a new carpet last year. Goodness only knows what she's done this year. I charge a fair rent. £600 for the three bed semi as it has a large garden but only one bathroom and £425 for the three bed terrace but it has two family bathrooms. They are probably below market price but I'd rather have nice people in them.

My son lives in a HA home. It's beautiful but they have nightmare neighbours too. They thought to rent privately as well but the extra rent would have been a struggle to find and they could find themselves with just as difficult neighbours.

When I moved here we had very difficult elderly neighbours. They hated the kids playing and they were in bed by 8 pm and obviously not out in winter nights.

I think just keep complaining as I explained to my son and wife if their situation changes and my son loses his job the ha won't kick you out.

I watched that bailiff programme the other night. Paul bowhill had to evict a lady and her daughter because she had had an accident and had lost her job. The council didn't answer their helpline ( think they said it was havering) . He took them to the council offices where they got no help. She had no family nearby. They were heading for the streets and the bailiff paid for a nights b and b for them.

As I said to my son at least with the council/ ha at least you have a lifeline with them.

Should have said I own my own house.

You have my deepest sympathies OP. I am I pretty much exactly the same position. Both neighbours on one side alcoholics, and she has mental health issues too. 2 vicious dogs, one which has only very recently been allowed back after a court case because it savaged the female owner quite badly.

HA have said they are powerless to act as they are homeowners not HA tenants. Police call outs in the 100's but they never do anything. Addressing them directly changes nothing but causes even more animosity which is hard to deal with when they will start ranting and shouting wether or not the children are with me.

I've been given the same info about reapplying back to the HA for a new house. No like for like homes anymore. So if in a 3 bed home I would have to apply for a 2 or a 4. I'm pinning my hopes on a swap through the homeswapper website.

I'm considering only bidding for a new 4 bed house even though I don't need it and I will have to pay extra rent as that seems preferable to living next door to this for years to come.

It's ridiculous that the police will only attend their address on masse and with their stab vests on but everyday people have to live with this on a daily basis and can't even qualify for a relocation away from it.

You can get absolutely fantastic sofa beds, really you can. We have an ikea karlstad 3 seater sofa bed which is very comfortable on its own, but even better with a topper. Small amount of storage underneath for bedding during the day and really easy to operate.

Alternatively, the ikea hemnes day bed is actually pretty comfy. If you were able to store a king topper during the day, then could use over the thinner mattress to add extra comfort.

Definitely worth looking around.

We used to have a sofa workshop sofa bed which my brother borrowed for 2 years when he was in a studio flat, and slept on it every night. It was more expensive but still comfortable.

If you google sofa beds for every night use then I'm sure you'd get lots of options.

I would strongly recommend that you stay in HA tenancy, but if you have the ability to move to a smaller HA property with while being confrtable with the idea of using a sofa bed to allow the girls to have their own rooms, it gives you an "out" without losing the security of tenure. Really, I think private renting is best avoided.

I think it boils down to how energetic you are!

I have just been offered a HA house, which I am thrilled about as my current living circumstances are unbearable and I don't have money for a deposit.

However, I truly did not really understand why anyone would live in a HA house if they were working and could afford a private rental.

Private rentals are lovely, you can choose the area, you can move if you have bad neighbours. Overall, the standard of accommodation is nice.

But... they are more expensive. And I can see how being forced to move is a huge problem if you are settled with children. But if you dress it up as an exciting adventure then that side of it should be okay for children.

I also think it depends hugely if you have a car. The HA house I have been allocated is on what I would term a "sink estate" even though quite a few people own their own homes here. It's just the FEEL of the place. You know what I'm getting at, don't you. A sort of undercurrent of despair. Private rentals simply don't have this feeling to them. Anyway, if you have the use of a car you can take your children away at the weekends and go on outings off the estate (and would have more money to do these things in a HA house).
But similarly if you're in a private rental and have a car you can drive them to school so you have a bit more leeway with distance. You can go further from the school to get into a nicer property.

Having said that, I live in the North West where there are lots of private rentals here so plenty of choice. I have heard tales on MN of rentals being in short supply and people ending up in rubbish private rentals because there was nothing else available.

Thanks for all the replies.

Just to clarify, my eldest dd doesn't have the same dad as my youngest, he's not too bad but obviously I would like her to stay with me.

I have phoned the rspca about the dogs but there's nothing they can do as shutting them in all day isn't an offence. It's for environmental health to deal with. I'm reticent to report them as I'm pretty sure she will start on me if I do. I've had enough animosity over the last few years so don't want to create any more or be frightened to step outside of my front door in case I bump into her.

I phoned my HA this morning and they advised me to make an appointment at the district council office to discuss going back on the list. I am certainly going to give it a go and see what they say, hopefully I can convince them to allow me to bid on 3 bed houses. I'll also register on the homeswapper website, you never know, someone might be bonkers enough to want to live here. I looked into private rentals in my area last night and I'm looking at at least £800 for a 3 bed place, which is double what I'm paying here, and is going to be tough on my finances so I'm going to do whatever I can to stay in HA accommodation.

Yes, if private rentals are double then you have to stay in HA housing.

Here, private rentals are about 100-200 pound more per month than HA houses.